THE summer season for Midlands-based railtour operator Vintage Trains got off to an inauspicious start after the failure of its flagship steam loco GWR 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle, a ‘control’ issue, and then the failure and subsequent cancellation of a trip to Llandudno just two miles from its Tyseley base.
The discovery of a superheater header leak on Clun Castle just before a test run from Tyseley to Stratford-upon-Avon led to the loco being declared a failure, and a press launch special on July 29 was operated instead by Class 20 No. 20189 and Class 47 No. 47773. These locos also worked a circular trip to Leicester on the same evening.